Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe approves new casino compact with state

The Tribe will pay the state 21 percent of gross revenues from a Taunton casino for as long as it has the only casino in Massachusetts. The revenue sharing drops by 4 points once other casinos begin operating

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has agreed to pay the state 21 percent of gross gambling revenues from a $500 million Taunton casino for as long as it has the only casino in Massachusetts, according to a compact agreed to between the tribe and Gov. Deval Patrick.

The revenue sharing drops by 4 percentage points once other casinos — proposed in other parts of the state — begin operating, according to a summary of the compact provided by the governor's office. The tribe would pay just 15 percent if the state's lone slots parlor winds up in Southeastern Massachusetts, known as Region C in the 2011 legislation that established Bay State gaming. If the tribe's casino opens first, followed by a slots parlor in the region, the tribe would pay 19 percent until the other full-fledged casinos open. Two developers have proposed to build the state's lone slots parlor in close proximity to the tribe's Taunton proposal, though gambling experts say the venues would appeal to different types of players.

The compact was approved Tuesday night by a 7-1 vote of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council. Two members of the council abstained. It still needs the approval of the state Legislature and the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The bureau rejected the first compact reached between the tribe and Patrick because it was considered too lucrative to the state without the tribe receiving enough in return. That deal would have paid the state 21.5 percent, but dropped to 15 percent if another full-fledged casino opened in Region C.

As concessions, the state grants the tribe exclusivity in Region C and agreed to negotiate with the tribe even though it has yet to have its land application approved by the federal bureau.

The provisions of the compact have been vetted in advance by Patrick and Cromwell with the bureau, though that is no guarantee the deal will be approved.

The deal comes as the tribe is preparing to make its case to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that its plans have made progress in Taunton. The commission has scheduled a meeting for 4 p.m. Thursday at Bristol Community College in Fall River, where it will consider whether to open the region to commercial bidders.

On its website Tuesday, the commission posted comments made to the commission so far, as well as a preliminary list of speakers.

Elias Patoucheas, president of Claremont Cos., a Bridgewater business that owns 170 acres on Interstate 495 and Route 24 in Bridgewater, wrote that casino operators have shown interest in the company's land, but won't pull the trigger because of the tribe's proposal.

"The uncertainty about the path of casino gaming in Southeastern Massachusetts threatens to relegate residents of the region to 'stepchildren' status once again," Patoucheas wrote.

The list of speakers, except for Cromwell, features mostly opponents of the tribe's project or advocates for pulling the plug on the tribe's exclusive play for the region's casino.

Meanwhile, a federal judge has decided to delay a hearing on a federal lawsuit scheduled for today that could have impacted Thursday's meeting.

In the suit, KG Urban Enterprises, which hopes to build a New Bedford casino, objects to the tribe's exclusive window to land an Indian casino calling it a "race-based, set-aside" that violates the U.S. Constitution.

Along with the freshly minted compact, the tribe is likely to tout an advisory opinion from Kevin Washburn, assistant secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, showing the tribe's land application is being considered as an "initial reservation" under federal Indian gaming law.

Cromwell said Tuesday he will update the commission on the "great strides" made by the tribe and demonstrate "why it is unnecessary to make any changes to the Southeastern region."

A letter released by KG Urban shows the company is ready to dispute that.

Marsha Sajer, a lawyer for KG Urban, points to two U.S. Supreme Court rulings — known as the Carcieri and Patchak decisions — that she says will likely delay a tribal casino for "six or more years." Carcieri calls into question the federal government's authority to take land into trust for tribes recognized after 1934 — the Mashpee tribe was recognized in 2007 — and Patchak gives opponents up to six years to challenge land taken into trust.

"Were the secretary to take land-in-trust for a tribe recognized after 1934, that decision will not end the uncertainty, but will instead prolong it for at least an additional six years pending legal challenges allowed under the Supreme Court's Patchak opinion," Sajer wrote.